The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

targeted?"
    "No," Youko answered honestly.
    "What kind of person is Enho?"
    "I know that he was originally a citizen of Baku. That's all."
    Sekki nodded. "He was connected with the Evergreen Seminary in Baku Province. He wasn't an instructor, but I've heard that he consulted with people in a similar capacity to that of a teacher. Beyond that, I don't know much more."
    "The Evergreen Seminary?"
    "In the middle of the city in San County. A highly respected private school dedicated to the teaching of the Way. Last year it was raided by arsonists. The school was destroyed and all the instructors killed, but a number of people managed to survive. Rou has mentioned that he was attending the Evergreen Seminary, so I'm sure he has some connections to it."
    "So all these people who came to visit Enho--"
    "Most likely, yes. Rou earnestly asked that this not be divulged. Even today, people connected to the Evergreen Seminary are being hunted down."
    "Hunted down? Why?"
    Sekki answered plainly. "Because it's a thorn in the side of those who have fallen from the Way following after their own selfish desires."
    "Men like that--"
    "Men like that can't abide people knowing about the Way. Neither can they abide it when they take up the reins of government. You see, if they can't completely surround themselves with people just like them, who claim not to give a damn about Virtue or the Way, they'll be deposed sooner or later."
    "But--"
    "I've heard that the Marquis of Baku attended the Evergreen Seminary as well. Because they found the existence of the Marquis so intolerable, they plotted to unseat him. Those who followed the pretender on one side, and the Marquis--who opposed her--on the other. If he turned out to be right, then all those who followed her would lose their place of power. So they whispered half-truths in the ear of the Empress and entrapped the Marquis. Such is the nature of the lot we are dealing with."
    "Indeed," Youko said, placing a hand on her forehead.
    "According to Rou, the attack on the Evergreen Seminary came at the instigation of the vice-minister in the Shisui Prefecture Ministry of Summer."
    "What?"
    "We asked for further details, but nobody would talk, so we only heard this second-hand. But the criminals who attacked and burned the Evergreen Seminary were said to be itinerants, coiled snakes that crawled out of Takuhou. Right after the attack, the current vice-minister, a mere itinerant at the time, was promoted to the ministry. That's some promotion. The criminals and the vice-minister were surely acquaintances."
    "Shoukou, you mean."
    Sekki nodded. "The vice-minister was pulling the strings behind the scenes, but the mastermind was surely Shoukou. I have no idea why Shoukou should so despise a seminary in Baku Province. But if he knew that survivors from the seminary were in Hokui, he would make every effort to finish them off. That's the kind of man he is."
    Youko looked at the face of the boy who was relating all this so calmly. "So Enho is perhaps in Takuhou?"
    "The possibility is high. Whether alive or dead, I can't say."
    Youko jumped to her feet.
    "Hey, where you going?
    She stopped at the sound of Koshou's voice. "I'm going to rescue him."
    "Don't talk nonsense!"
    "I have to!" She owned him that debt of moral obligation and respect. Rangyoku was dead and Keikei lay at death's door. Only Enho could she save.
    "Stop!"
    Koshou grabbed her by the arm. She jerked herself free of his grasp. Sekki stood in front of her, blocking the way. She took him by the shoulders and pushed him to the side.
    "Youshi! Wait!" Suzu's shrill voice froze her in her tracks. "Shoukou has dozens of guards at his beck and call. His carriage entered Takuhou, but do you have any idea where he went? Or the many places Shoukou could be imprisoning his detractors? Don't go leaping before you look."
    "But--" Youko started to say, when Koshou again took a hold of her arm.
    "We have associates constantly keeping an eye on Shoukou. I think they'll know where that troublesome carriage ended up."
    "Associates?"
    "We've been on his trail for three years. There's not a day that goes by when we don't know what the bastard's been up to."
    "Koshou--you--" Youko scanned the faces of men in the dining hall, whose numbers had at some point swelled to a dozen or more. "You are--?"
    If she'd thought it through, this was the conclusion she should have come to. There was no way Suzu's malice toward Shoukou would have abated in the least.
    Koshou